The Emperor said softly in an emotionlessly neutral voice, "Commander tell us how many wagons of Melded ore are on the way to Josper and Leandore."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The smugglers of Josper and Leandore have completely emptied six warehouses. The count of wagons full of melded ore on the way to Josper has increased to twenty-three Wagons. The count for Leandore has increased to sixteen Wagons. Nine unknown groups are on the road as well. It's hard to determine their destination as they keep changing their directions of travel. However, each one of these groups also have a wagon in their possession."
"General Long, I can understand your anger. However, I am focused on a bigger picture. Do you understand how much of our military we can equip with the forty-eight wagons of melded ore that are escaping our grasp as we speak? Do you understand that once that melded ore makes its way into Josper and Leandore it will be used to equip their military? Their military will then used the melded ore of The Tolling Lands to spill the blood of the warriors of The Tolling Lands." The emperor said in a neutral emotionless voice. There was complete silence in the Imperial War Room the words of the emperor caused their hearts to skip a beat.
"I have no time right now to focus on Prime Minister Peng. I'd rather the Dragoon Guards put him down. What I am focused on is securing that ore before it completely escapes my grasp. If that ore makes its way to Josper and Leandore, war will follow, however, if we are able to secure that ore and use it to strengthen our military. We can delay war for another five to maybe ten years. I'm sure all of you generals and commanders are aware that sooner or later, there will be a clash between the Tolling Lands and Josper." Everyone knew that this was true as the tension between the countries grew with each passing year.
"Earlier when I received this report. It kindled my wrath so greatly I lost sight of what was important. However, Imperial Grandfather came in, calmed me down, and took my mind off the matter for just a moment. That gave me room to consider the situation from another angle. Those who must die will die. However, I have not the time to focus my energy on them. Apparently, this mountain is full of ore. However, retrieving that ore will take a bit of time. If we can get our hands on these forty-eight large wagons full of melded ore. Along with the hidden warehouses full of melded ore in the Imperial City and on the outskirts of the city. We can start to strengthen our Military immediately." Wang Fèn Yǒng shot his Imperial Great Grandfather an intense stare as he thought, 'So it was deliberate. I wondered why in a time of crisis Great Grandfather would chose that time to provoke the Emperor with Liu Tián Qǔ and hand out life lessons?'
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"So I ask everyone to hold on to their emotions for the time begin. The time will come when you will be given a chance to harvest the lives of the traitors to quell your rage. However, right now, we must make sure not one wagon crosses the borders of the Tolling Lands or escape our grasp."
Emperor looked over to the Shadow Commander and said in neutral emotionless voice, "Commander proceed with your report. We must close this net as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the commander bowed before saying, "Now I will tell you of the additions and changes to the report. The number of smuggling operations and smugglers has not changed. It remains the same. However, the five foreign smuggling operations have left the city and are traveling with the wagons of Melded Ore. The remaining two are large-scale local smuggling operations, four small-scale local operations, and six lone smugglers. The number of warehouses of melded ore has increased to thirteen. However, six were emptied by the foreign smugglers leaving eight warehouses filled with melded ore. The Commander said into a silent room. The sound of his voice was the only thing heard in the utter silence and complete stillness of the room
"Of the high officials involved are Prime Minister Peng who is being detained in the throne room. The minister of Justice and the minister of the Guards. Of the Minor Officials, the numbers have increased. Of the Ministers of the Justice, the number increase to five. Of the Ministers of the Public Works, the number increased to four. Of The ministers of the Guards, the number remains at three. As for the number of City Gate guards involved in this matter, the number has increased to one hundred and twelve. The number of Patrol guards has increased to sixty-three. The merchant houses who have made transactions with the smuggles remains at three." As the Shadow Commander read his report, it was obvious that the Generals and Commanders who were suppressing their emotions were having a hard time keeping their emotions under control.
"There remains heavy border activity on the borders of Josper and Leandore. However, it has been concluded that the activity is not aggressive. It looks more like they are waiting as an escort for the wagons. Prince Jing of Josper is also still being heavily monitored, and there have been other developments regarding Prince Jing. The shadows guarding him are shooting down all the messenger birds he is sending out. They have also shot down messenger birds that were incoming to him. Of the nine letters retrieved, two were correspondences between Prince Jing and the Duke of Rong that borders Josper. There were three letters of correspondence between Prince Jing and the Commander of Josper Garrison. Another three letters were correspondences between Prince Jing and the Commander Of Leandore. Those messages are now in my possession I will be handing them over to Your Majesty." The shadow commander said as he retrieved the messages from inside his robes. He passed them to Wang Fèn Yǒng, who then rose from his seat and handed them to the emperor.